India scouts for oil and gas assets in Africa on crude price fall

State firms, led by Oil and Natural gas Corp (ONGC), have already spent about $6 billion in acquiring oil and gas assets in the resource-rich continent over the last few yearsET Bureau | Updated: January 16, 2016, 11:42 IST

NEW DELHI: India is eyeing oil and gas assets in Africa as the crude collapse makes assets affordable and provides a big opportunity for the energy-hungry economy to secure supplies.

State firms, led by Oil and Natural gas Corp (ONGC), have already spent about $6 billion in acquiring oil and gas assets in the resource-rich continent over the last few years and plan to enhance their investment as they go along. “India needs a lot of equity oil and so Africa is a natural hot spot for us,” Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said at the curtain-raiser of the fourth edition of the India-Africa Hydrocarbons Conference, slated for next week in Delhi.

India and Africa, which share a $75 billion trade partnership, with oil and gas accounting for nearly half, are seeking to broaden their partnership with enhanced economic and diplomatic engagement.

In October, 41 heads of the African states participated in the third India-Africa Summit. Following up from the summit, the India-Africa Hydrocarbons Conference is an attempt at spotting opportunities and enhancing engagement in the energy sector. At least 17 African countries, including 10 oil ministers, will participate in the conference, Pradhan said.

“It’s difficult to imagine our energy security without Africa,” Pradhan said. India imported 32 million metric tonne of crude oil, or 15% of its consumption, in 2014 from Africa. It also accounted for 8% of African liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports in 2015. Africa is also the second-largest consumer of India’s refined product exports.

“It should be a partnership, not just a buyer-seller relationship,” Pradhan said, adding the enhanced cooperation will benefit both India and Africa. “They have taken a modern and progressive approach,” Pradhan said of the African countries.